Ryan Holiday

Marketing Speaker, Author of Growth Hacker Marketing

Ryan Holiday is a leading media strategist whose campaigns have been studied by YouTube, Twitter, and Google, and covered in Fast Company, Ad Age, and Gawker. Holiday is the former Director of Marketing at American Apparel and the author of Growth Hacker Marketing, which reveals how a new generation of multibillion dollar brands were built without spending a dime on “traditional marketing.”

"Growth hackers are the new VPs of marketing, and this book tells you how to make the transformation."—Andrew Chen, Silicon Valley entrepreneur

“Holiday is part Machiavelli, part Ogilvy, and all results…this whiz kid is the secret weapon you’ve never heard of.”—Tim Ferriss, #1 bestselling author of The 4-Hour Workweek

Ryan Holiday works for notorious clients like Tucker Max and Dov Charney, of American Apparel. After dropping out of college at 19 to apprentice under the strategist Robert Greene (The 48 Laws of Power), he went on to advise many bestselling authors and multi-platinum musicians. His new book, Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising, explains the growth hacker mindset and overnight success of companies like Dropbox, Facebook, AirBnb, and Twitter. Porter Gale, Former VP of Marketing at Virgin America, says: "This book is a wake up call for every marketing exec in the business. And a tutorial for engineers, IT, founders and designers. Read it."

Holiday was the Director of Marketing at American Apparel, where his work in advertising is internationally known. “Behind my reputation as a marketing genius,” writes American Apparel founder Dov Charney, “is Ryan Holiday, who I consult often and who has done more for my business than just about anyone.” Holiday's first book, Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator, is a Wall Street Journal bestseller. In his new book, The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph, Holiday shows us how to turn obstacles into advantages, inspired by the timeless set of philosophical principles used by icons from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Richard Wright to Steve Jobs.

Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising

Dropbox, Facebook, AirBnb, Twitter. A new generation of multibillion dollar brands built without spending a dime on “traditional marketing.” No press releases, no PR firms, and no billboards in Times Square. It wasn’t luck that took them from tiny start-ups to millions of users and massive valuations. They have a new strategy, called Growth Hacking. And it works.

In this talk, Ryan Holiday shows how the marketing game has changed forever. He explains the growth hacker mindset and provides a new set of rules—critical information whether you’re an aspiring marketer, an entrepreneur, or a Fortune 500 executive.

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”—Marcus Aurelius

We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn’t be this way. In this talk, Ryan Holiday shares the formula for success that’s been followed by the icons of history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities. Faced with impossible situations, they found the astounding triumphs we all seek. These men and women were not exceptionally brilliant, lucky, or gifted. Their success came from timeless philosophical principles laid down by a Roman emperor who struggled to articulate a method for excellence in any and all situations. Holiday reveals that formula for the first time—and shows us how we can turn our own adversity into advantage.

Ryan didn’t just tell a story on stage, he provided our crowd with a keynote stuffed with hands-on knowledge from his day-to-day work life. He truly rocked our stage, delivering inspiring and real-world-ready know-how on billion dollar brands including growth hacking insights that can be applied on the next day in the office.

Editions Infopresse

Ryan Holiday was charged with opening our first Marketing event, a conference which had never been hosted and for which our audience of marketers and ad agencies had high expectations. He truly lived up to the challenge with an inspiring, attention-catching talk filled with real-world examples. He proved to be an excellent and engaging speaker; he set the bar high for the rest of the day.

Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator

You’ve seen it all before. A malicious online rumor costs a company millions. A political sideshow derails the national news cycle and destroys a candidate. Some product or celebrity zooms from total obscurity to viral sensation. What you don’t know is that someone is responsible for all this. Usually, someone like me. I’m a media manipulator. In a world where blogs control and distort the news, my job is to control blogs—as much as any one person can. In today’s culture… 1) Blogs like Gawker, Buzzfeed and the Huffington Post drive the media agenda. 2) Bloggers are slaves to money, technology, and deadlines. 3) Manipulators wield these levers to shape everything you read, see and watch—online and off. Why am I giving away these secrets? Because I'm tired of a world where blogs take indirect bribes, marketers help write the news, reckless journalists spread lies, and no one is accountable for any of it. I'm pulling back the curtain because I don't want anyone else to get blindsided.

I’m going to explain exactly how the media really works. What you choose to do with this information is up to you.

Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising

Dropbox, Facebook, AirBnb, Twitter. A new generation of multibillion dollar brands built without spending a dime on “traditional marketing.” No press releases, no PR firms, and no billboards in Times Square.

It wasn’t luck that took them from tiny start-ups to millions of users and massive valuations. They have a new strategy, called Growth Hacking. And it works.

In this e-special, bestselling author Ryan Holiday shows how the marketing game has changed forever. He explains the growth hacker mindset and provides a new set of rules—critical information whether you’re an aspiring marketer, an entrepreneur, or a Fortune 500 executive.

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

Available May 1, 2014

The great Athenian orator Demosthenes was born with a crippling speech impediment and was robbed of his inheritance by cruel guardians. Samuel Zemurray was a poor roadside fruit peddler pitted against the behemoth United Fruit Company. Ulysses S. Grant found himself stuck across the Mississippi river, desperately trying to break into the impenetrable fortress of Vicksburg.

These icons and many others throughout history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Richard Wright to Steve Jobs—were often placed in nearly impossible situations that turned out to be the platforms for astounding triumphs. They were not exceptionally brilliant, lucky, or gifted. Their success in overcoming extreme obstacles was the result of a timeless set of philosophical principles that great men and women have always followed.

Now Ryan Holiday unpacks those lessons and reframes them for today's world, building on the wisdom of the ancient Stoics and a rich trove of examples. He shows us how to turn obstacles into advantages, through controlling our perceptions, swift and energetic action, and true force of will.

Twitter: Speaker

Be careful of the line where curiosity and self-improvement transition into wankery.